Tile company headed to Mt. Pleasant

Wednesday

Jan 22, 2014 at 8:33 AM

MT. PLEASANT — Discussions during a town hall meeting Tuesday revealed that a company whose identity has been kept secret will produce ceramic tiles — a statement confirmed by a Tennessee environmental agency.

MT. PLEASANT — Discussions during a town hall meeting Tuesday revealed that a company whose identity has been kept secret will produce ceramic tiles — a statement confirmed by a Tennessee environmental agency.

Property records show that UST Inc. purchased a 96-acre site at 1433 N. Main St., in November. The company intends to build a 500,000-square-foot facility that would serve as its North American headquarters, a manufacturing center and a distribution hub.

UST Inc. submitted an application to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Air Pollution Control Division in May 2013 to build a ceramic tile plant in the city, according to a TDEC spokesperson Shannon Ashford.

"The company’s application is being evaluated, and no permits have been issued," Ashford wrote in an email.

UST Inc. is the company that will open the facility, but the business is a subsidiary of a parent company that will oversee its operations. Economic officials remain tight-lipped about the parent company’s name. The company started in the 1960s and has operations in Italy and Russia.

The new facility would represent about a $55 million investment in the area and employ about 180 full-time employees, according to officials at the Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance.

City officials held a town hall meeting Tuesday at the Community Center, 501 Gray Lane, in which the city manager and mayor were asked about the company.

Mt. Pleasant resident Ed Brennan asked what incentives were offered to the "tile company" planning to locate in the city.

City Manager Michelle Williams answered that the company was offered a $5.2 million Tax Increment Financing incentive. TIF’s provide companies with tax breaks at the beginning of the deal instead of discounting future tax revenues.

The Maury County Industrial Development Board will withdraw the $5.2 million bank loan on the company’s behalf. The money will be used to prepare the building site.

Williams said that it will be 12-18 months before construction on the building begins.

The product was revealed after Mayor Maury Colvett was asked a question about job offerings and what the city is doing to keep its young people around after graduating high school. The mayor mentioned the product in his response.

"First we have to get the industries here and that’s exactly what we are trying to do. We have to give them a reason to stay," Colvett said. "So, that’s we are trying to do with this tile company."

Officials were reluctant to offer any additional details about the company.